Sannin Stories
by Red Berin
Summary: A few one-shots/drabbles centered on the legendary Sannin. These are their untold stories.
1. I Just Wanted to Say Goodbye

Jiraiya leaned back on the bench, tilted his head back, and sighed, savoring his time away from the battlefield. Ever since he had returned to Konoha to fight in the Second Ninja War, he was constantly on the move. A lull in the fighting brought him a much needed and well deserved break.

The sun was directly overhead, but a cooling breeze kept the otherwise stifling heat at bay. The Sannin took the moment to soak in his relaxation. He closed his eyes against the bright sun and smiled. There was a war going on and he was in the midst of it. That didn't bother him, though, not with his friends around and an idea for a book tumbling around in his brain.

Frantic footsteps brought Jiraiya out of his trance. He looked up the road for the source of the noise. Tsunade was quickly walking towards him with a teenage girl by her side and a bag on her back. He caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks. She said something to the girl and the two continued forward.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called, waving.

She didn't respond. He tried calling again, but she just passed him up. With a frustrated grunt, he jogged to her side. "Tsunade, where are you going?"

"I'm leaving," she said bluntly.

"Leaving?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I can't stay here anymore, Jiraiya." Her blunt edge had receded a bit, but it still hurt him. Dumbfounded, he stopped walking. Tsunade stopped a little ahead of him and called back, "I've seen enough of this village and it's time to for me to get out."

Jiraiya blanched. He remembered a few days before when she had given wrong instructions to heal an injured Shinobi. He had almost died that morning. "Tsunade, if this has to do with a couple days ago –"

"I just can't stay here," Tsunade replied.

The man moved forward so he was only a few feet away. "One of Konoha's Sannin can't leave in the middle of a war!"

"The war is pointless," Tsunade growled. "It would only be pointless for me for me to stay for a cause I don't believe in."

Realization swept over Jiraiya. He sighed deeply and asked, "This is about Dan, isn't it?"

Tsunade's face contorted with anger. "It's not just about him. It's about Nawaki and all of the other Shinobi that died pointless deaths!"

Although Jiraiya knew he was right, he didn't feel any better. "Running from the village won't make things better."

"Running!" Tsunade's voice rose to a near shout. "I'm escaping! Konoha makes Shinobi believe that they can actually make a difference in war! Once this one's over, a new one will begin and it will be just the same!"

"How can you just leave the village when it needs you the most?"

"It looks like you're one of those Shinobi. I'm getting out of here before I actually start thinking this damn war is necessary."

Tsunade started down the road again with the teenager, but Jiraiya stopped her once more. "What did Orochimaru say?"

The woman's shoulders slumped. She didn't face him, but he heard her anyways. "He told me death was a necessary part of war and that I'd get over it."

"Oh, Tsunade," Jiraiya said under his breath. His heart went out to the broken woman before him. "You must know he's wrong."

"Of course I do," Tsunade snapped. She glanced at him over her shoulder. "This war is pointless, regardless. There's no need for death when there's no need to fight." With that said, she began walking towards the village's gate.

Jiraiya followed her until he saw the gate ahead. "Tsunade, wait," he called. To his surprise, she stopped.

"I've made up my mind."

"I realize that," Jiraiya said sadly. He caught up and stared into her amber eyes. "I just wanted to say goodbye." He bent forward and wrapped his arms around her.

She returned the gesture with a gentle embrace of her own. "Goodbye, Jiraiya," she said softly. "And good luck."

Jiraiya dropped his arms and stepped back. He tried to get one last good look at her eyes, hiding so much, but she had already turned around and was walking again.

She hoped he hadn't seen the tears falling down her face.

He had only vaguely wondered who the black-haired girl was.

* * *

I may add a few more one-shots to this as a sort of collection as I think the back story of the Sannin is really interesting and emotional, but we'll see. Thanks for reading, everyone!


	2. Teammates

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jiraiya! You can send me a love letter later!" The white-haired boy held his hand out to the girl in greeting.

Orochimaru sneered in disgust. Being a ninja was no laughing matter. This oaf clearly didn't take his future seriously. The dark-haired boy would be willing to wager that the boy next to him wouldn't last past the first battle in a war.

The blonde – Tsunade, was it? – shook Jiraiya's hand. Orochimaru looked her up and down. It was hard to tell anything about her just from the way she looked, but she wouldn't matter once he proved himself a lot more capable than his teammates. Once he did, the Second would realize that he shouldn't be trained with mere Genin when he was so much better. These two kids were just obstacles he had to overcome to reach his goal.

He reluctantly held out his own hand and mumbled, "I'm Orochimaru."

"Nice to meet you," Tsunade smiled. Orochimaru didn't return the expression.

"Alright, now that you all know each other, it's time to begin your first day of training," Sarutobi held up two bells and showed them to his team. "There are two bells. The fact that there are only two bells means . . ."

"One person will lose," Orochimaru answered. The silver bells transfixed him. He just had to get one and prove himself better.

"You're very sharp, Orochimaru," Sarutobi nodded.

Suddenly, Jiraiya leaned in front of Orochimaru to look at Tsunade. "Hey! If I get a bell, then you'll go out with me, Tsunade!"

Tsunade lifted her nose into the air and looked away. "Fine, but when you lose, don't bother me anymore, alright?"

"Yeah, alright! Let's do this!" Jiraiya exclaimed. Orochimaru sighed deeply. He couldn't wait to be rid of these two and get into some real training.

"Let's begin!" Sarutobi announced. Suddenly, he wasn't in front of his team any more. A puff of smoke rose into the air and a rock lay where he had stood.

"He got away already?" Jiraiya asked, scanning the surrounding area. Tsunade swore under her breath and Orochimaru hurriedly looked around. Maybe proving himself wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

* * *

Gasping, Orochimaru held the two bells above his head. A grin spread across his face and he laughed softly. "That worked out better than I could've hoped!"

Tsunade straightened up and stared at the small fissure in the ground. "How did you know I could do something like that?"

"Simple," Orochimaru began. "You tried to use your strength to attack Sarutobi, but I figured you could try a more indirect approach and that it would catch him off guard. When it did, I jumped in and grabbed both bells." He threw one of the bells to Tsunade.

"Very good, Orochimaru," Sarutobi stepped next to the young boy. "I can see why your teachers at the Academy said you'd go far." He turned to look at Tsunade and said, "I never expected an attack like that from you. With more training, you can get even stronger. Your teamwork has proven your capability of moving on to your real training."

Tsunade laughed evilly, "Jiraiya lost the bet! He has to leave me alone, now!"

Sarutobi's smile faded a bit. "Speaking of, I think it's time to let Jiraiya down."

Orochimaru grimaced and Tsunade groaned. However, the former was proud of himself. He had shown that he was capable of performing the task Sarutobi had given. With a quick glance at Tsunade, he admitted to himself that he couldn't have done it on his own. Jiraiya even helped out in the only way that he could have. If it wasn't for that fool, Orochimaru wouldn't have been able to get the bells as easily as he did. He began to think that maybe teammates really weren't as useless as he thought they were.

* * *

This one's kinda broken up and I apologize for that. AnneLea gave me the idea for this one in her review. I want to thank you all for reading and let me know what you think! I might have a few more one-shots up my sleeve that I can add to this, so look out if you want to see more of the Sannin!


	3. To Be a Sannin

Whee, this one's actually out a decent number of days after the last one! Please keep in mind that I did not make this battle up. It is a deleted scene from the anime. I don't have much dialogue except at the end (because there were translatable subtitles). Anyways, enjoy this if you haven't seen the deleted battle! If you have, enjoy anyways!

* * *

One by one, the other ninja fell to Hanzo's might. Some were parents, children, siblings, lovers. It didn't matter to the man. This was a war. Everyone died a hero, but made up a statistic. The Village Hidden in the Leaves was used to such a way of life.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade planted their feet in the ground. Hanzo glared down at the trio from the top of his salamander. Rain gushed out of the clouds above and washed away the blood of the fallen. Each member of Team Hiruzen wondered if this would be their final battle.

The trio tensed. Hanzo raised his arm, took aim, and released a volley of kunai the enemies before him. "Tsunade! Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted the warning to his teammates. The three managed to dodge in time and the battle resumed. Each kunai exploded, but Team Hiruzen had safely gotten out of the way in time. Hanzo wasn't fazed; he simply pinpointed one of the ninja and threw more of his dangerous weaponry.

Orochimaru barely had time to react between each explosion. As soon as a kunai exploded, he had to jump back to avoid getting caught in the next blast. He spotted Tsunade out of the corner of his eye and jumped behind her. She roared and slammed her fist into the ground. A boulder rose from the earth and deflected two more of Hanzo's exploding kunai.

Using the boulder as a distraction, Tsunade ran from behind to in an attempt to attack. Hanzo easily recovered from his previous attack, performed a quick flurry of hand signs, and shouted something from atop his salamander. Tsunade jumped back and watched for the attack, but Hanzo's offense was quicker than her defense. Hundreds of exploding tags crawled onto her feet and legs. She tried to move away, but the tags were determined to kill.

As the thought that she might be killed crossed her mind, she was suddenly enveloped in white and pulled off her feet. The tags exploded, but she was just out of their reach. She felt the heat of a blazing fire through the white wall. When the heat dissipated, Jiraiya returned his hair to normal, freeing Tsunade from its safety.

Orochimaru used this opportunity to launch an attack of his own. He sent several snakes to trap Hanzo. When they had successfully secured their target, he shouted for his teammate, "Jiraiya!"

Hundreds of needles flew through the rain, all intended for Hanzo. In the blink of an eye, he substituted himself and his salamander for a mere puddle of water. Orochimaru cautiously looked for the man, but had to jump out of the way of the materializing salamander.

Jiraiya dashed behind the salamander and jumped to attack Hanzo before he could activate his next jutsu. Before the attack could connect, Jiraiya was slammed out of the sky and onto the ground by the salamander's tail.

Tsunade ran to her comrade's side and helped him onto his feet and Orochimaru joined them. The three wondered how they could possibly defeat a ninja they couldn't even touch.

To their surprise, Hanzo spoke out above the pouring rain. "I predict that Konoha will be victorious in this battle, so I'll let you three live."

Outraged, Jiraiya shouted back, "We don't want your pity! We can still fight back!"

"Stop, Jiraiya!" Tsunade commanded. With their weakened state and their comrades lost, this battle was certainly a lost cause.

Hanzo continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "You are strong. You were able to survive this battle. So I, Hanzo, dub you the Sannins of Konoha. In exchange for your lives, tell me your names."

* * *

Again, I did not make this up, it was adapted from the anime. I have an idea for at least one more one-shot, but I'm sure I'll pick up a couple more in the process. I want to see how long I can keep this little collection going! Thanks for reading! Also, a special thanks to those that have reviewed and added this to their alerts! This has even been added to a community! I feel special :D


	4. Woman to Woman

The news hit her like a ton of bricks. She closed her eyes and bowed her head for the fallen Asuma Sarutobi. However, she couldn't cry now, not when the three men before her waited for their orders. She couldn't cry for the man she knew as a child, not when her village needed her. She finally managed to form words. "I see . . ."

Kotetsu lowered his eyes and asked softly, "What about Kurenai?"

Tsunade thought about it, well aware that Shikamaru was staring at her intently. She furrowed her brow and sighed deeply. After a few moments of contemplation, she answered, "You three notify everyone about the funeral. I'll tell Kurenai myself."

The three men nodded their understanding and left Tsunade alone. She sighed and held her head in her hands. It had to be done, she knew that, but she didn't know why it was necessary in the first place. She fought back feelings of guilt for sending Asuma out on such a dangerous mission. It was only right that Tsunade would inform Kurenai of the news herself.

Slowly, she got to her feet and left the office. Her mind raced as she exited the building and made her way to Kurenai's home. She remembered the day when she received the news about Nawaki's death. With a small shudder, she pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on her current task. Kurenai deserved all the care and attention Tsunade could give. The Hokage was a healer, after all. She knew Kurenai was going to need all the help she could get to heal from this injury.

All too soon, Tsunade found herself in front of Kurenai's apartment. She reluctantly knocked on the door and steeled herself to deliver the heartbreaking news.

The door slid open. Tsunade first noticed Kurenai's distinct red eyes. They showed surprise at seeing the Hokage, but changed to reflect worry and fear. "Lady Fifth," Kurenai said shakily. "How can I help you?"

Tsunade took a deep breath and said softly, "Asuma has been killed."

Kurenai was frozen with shock. Despair registered on her face right before she hid it in her hands. She crumpled and her knees hit the ground with a dull thud. Tsunade's heart ached in sympathy for Kurenai. She crouched down next to the woman and placed a hand on one of her shoulders. Kurenai fell against Tsunade and sobbed.

The elder woman remained silent. She knew from experience that words would not provide any comfort. They stayed like that for a while as Kurenai released her pent up worry, fear, and now, sorrow. Once Kurenai's sobs dissipated into dry heaves, Tsunade slowly helped her to her feet.

"Come on inside," she said. "I'll get you something to drink."

Kurenai stumbled into her apartment and collapsed onto the couch. She buried her face in her hands again, but the heaving had gone away. Tsunade went into the kitchen, found a glass, and poured water in it. She brought it out to Kurenai and took a seat next to her.

"Thank you for telling me, Lady Tsunade," Kurenai's voice had gone hoarse and it was difficult for Tsunade to hear her.

"Don't thank me, it's my duty."

The two women remained quiet, both lost in their own dark thoughts. Tsunade noticed that Kurenai hadn't taken a drink. After a few more moments, Tsunade spoke up, "The funeral will be held tomorrow. Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo are informing the villagers."

Kurenai nodded her head, but didn't say anything.

"I must get back to the office," Tsunade continued, standing up. "Will you be okay?"

Kurenai looked up at the Hokage. "Eventually," she muttered.

Tsunade made it a point to send Shikamaru to see her. He seemed the closest to Asuma and it wouldn't be good for Kurenai to be alone. "Come to me if you ever need anything," she said, opening the door.

"Lady Fifth, wait," Kurenai said. "You're the Hokage. I expected you to tell me that everything would be alright and that Asuma died a hero." Before Tsunade could reply, she went on, "Thank you for not doing that. Those words would have only been empty comfort."

The Hokage pushed back thoughts of Nawaki and Dan again and concentrated on the grieving woman in front of her. "Hollow words don't comfort. They don't help you through pain. Only those that understand can help. Anyone who doesn't understand shouldn't try to make you feel better. Remember that you won't get over this, but you'll get through this."

Tsunade closed the door of the apartment and began the trek back to her office.

* * *

A few words about this one-shot:

I hope that I portrayed grief in a believable way here.

Also, this deviates a little from canon as it was Shikamaru who informed Kurenai and not Tsunade.

Finally, I have a few more ideas lingering about for one-shots. If anyone wants more, give me some ideas and I'll be glad to try and make them work! Thanks for reading!


	5. A Drink Called Loneliness

It's a little late for Christmas Eve, but then again, I thought of this one some time on Christmas day. Sorry about that, but there's no reason not to enjoy it anyways! In this story, I made the Sannin be in their late teens.

* * *

Tsunade pulled the cap off her stolen sake and took a swig straight from the bottle. The alcohol filled her throat too fast and she started coughing, but she smiled anyways. The sake was exactly what she needed to forget on this Christmas Eve: the first Christmas Eve without Nawaki. She gulped down another mouthful.

Her small apartment was brightly lit. The window revealed a steady snowfall drifting onto the streets of the village outside. The sky was dark and the streetlights gave it an eerie orange glow. Tsunade would've appreciated the picture more if she wasn't set on getting too drunk to remember this night.

In just a few moments, the bottle was almost empty. She was about to finish it off, but there was a knock at the door. Reluctantly, she put the bottle down. As she walked to the door, she wondered who would visit her on Christmas Eve. After all, she had no family and her friends were spending the holidays with theirs.

She opened the door and was surprised to find Jiraiya and Orochimaru on the other side. "What are you two doing here?"

Without an invitation, Jiraiya walked right into the apartment. "We figured we'd give you a decent holiday!"

Tsunade's eye twitched, but she let Orochimaru in without any complaint. "What makes you think my holiday wouldn't be decent?"

"You said so yourself," Orochimaru said quietly. "You told us you were spending Christmas alone."

"What if I wanted to be alone?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya laughed. "Well that's too damn bad! We're here, so we might as well party!" He eyed the bottle of sake on the table and snatched it up. His face fell when he realized how little Tsunade left, but he threw his head back and drank the rest. After scrounging for the precious last drops, he set the bottle back on the table.

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade scolded. "That was the only bottle I had!"

The white-haired man stared at her for a few moments and then laughed again. "You're joking, right?"

Orochimaru looked between his friends and chuckled softly. "I think she's desperately serious."

Jiraiya sat down on the couch and groaned. "One little bottle of sake isn't enough!"

"I wasn't planning on company!" Tsunade shot back.

With a huge grin, Jiraiya leaned forward in his seat, "You had no company and one bottle of sake. What were you planning on doing?"

"I think our friend was trying to get drunk," Orochimaru said. He took a seat on the other end of the couch.

Tsunade stopped trying to suppress her scowl. "What if I was?"

"My dear," Jiraiya's tone was sympathizing, but his smile betrayed his sarcasm. "That bottle of sake that I happily finished was not enough to get you drunk, especially not with your – how do I put this politely? – mass. Luckily –"

"MASS?" Tsunade roared. In less than a second, she grabbed the front of Jiraiya's clothes and pulled him close to her; her hands glowed blue with chakra.

Her potential victim frantically searched for words to save his own life. "No, I meant that as a compliment!" he spit out.

The comment threw Tsunade off guard. Her grip loosened as she thought. Jiraiya began to exhale the breath he had been holding, but she suddenly pulled him even closer to her face. "Make one more comment about my chest and you won't live to get your gifts tomorrow." She let go of Jiraiya's shirt and he fell back against the couch. "Perv," she muttered.

Orochimaru tried to repress his grin, but Tsunade caught him. Her eyes flashed dangerously, but by grace of a Christmas miracle, he was safe from any sort of wrath.

"Tsunade, is that really any way to treat your guests? We even brought you gifts!" Jiraiya reached into his kimono and pulled out several small bottles of sake. Orochimaru repeated the gesture, supplying several bottles as well.

The blonde blinked a few times as she registered the glorious treasure before her. "Where did you –"

"You don't want to know," Orochimaru replied. He offered one of the bottles to Tsunade. She took it as if it were a priceless artifact.

"The 'where' and 'how' are not important. What is important is that you spend your Christmas Eve the way you were planning," Jiraiya put all but one bottle onto the floor around his feet. He opened the one he kept and took a mouthful. "However, since I know this will be your first time drunk –"

"How do you –"

"I told you, the 'where' and the 'how' are not important." He said under his breath, "Especially not the 'where'." After another swig, he offered his condition, "I'll let you get drunk, on the condition that Orochimaru and I are allowed to stay."

"You'll _let_ me get drunk?"

"It's all for the best, Tsunade. We know what you're like," Orochimaru teased.

"We'd feel guilty for letting you destroy half the village," Jiraiya agreed.

Tsunade glared at her teammates, but couldn't find anything to say. With a sigh, she sat between them and opened her bottle. "Alright, it's a deal," she feigned unhappiness.

"Cheers," Jiraiya said, raising his bottle, "to protecting the village in every way possible." Tsunade and Orochimaru clanked their bottles against his and each drank more of the dear sake.

Slowly but steadily, the cache of bottles drained. To Tsunade's left, Orochimaru had fallen asleep. His head was on the couch's arm rest and his body was bent at some uncomfortable angle. To her right, Jiraiya had passed out with his head back. Tsunade finished the last bottle and put it on the floor. She leaned back and watched the snow fall in the streetlights' glow. She thought about how pretty the scene outside was before falling asleep.

* * *

_"They're sharing a drink they call loneliness but it's better than drinkin' alone." ~Billy Joel_

* * *

Admittedly, I thought of that lyric after I wrote this. It's from a song called "Piano Man." If you haven't heard it, I strongly suggest listening to it because it's great. Now's the time I apologize for not knowing anything about drinking. I hope this makes enough sense to mean something to all of you wonderful readers. Thanks for reading!


	6. Sannin Songs

Um... So I know this is kinda unconventional, but I saw it and couldn't resist trying it out. Maybe others will see it and try it for themselves? It's a lot of fun! It's a music challenge. I'll let the rules explain it because they can do it better than I can.

* * *

Shuffle Challenge Rules

1. Pick a fandom/couple/crossover you like.

2. Turn on your music player and put it on random (aka: shuffle).

3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it ends.

4. No lingering afterwards. No cheating.

5. Do 10 of these and post them.

* * *

**Holiday in Cambodia - Dead Kennedys (3:44)**

Jiraiya pulled Tsunade away from the fuming Orochimaru. He was just as frightened as she was. He kept both of his hands on her shoulders and said, "What do you think you're doing, yelling at her like that?"

"I'm tired of her complaining about her dead brother!" Orochimaru snarled.

Tsunade whimpered and hid in Jiraiya's clothes. He looked down worriedly, but his face contorted with anger. "That doesn't give you the right to yell at her about it! She misses him, Orochimaru!"

"This is war! What does she expect? People die every day in the worst manner possible!"

"She lost her _brother_! He was the last of her family!"

Orochimaru scoffed, turned around, and began to walk away. "She's not the only one who's suffering."

* * *

**Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds (6:31)**

"Another sake, please," Jiraiya said. He leaned onto the counter and waited expectantly for his drink. With a smile, he gulped down the liquid, leaving only a little left.

Tsunade had already left under the claim to need to finish some work before Shizune came looking for her.

The man chuckled to himself. Having the position of Hokage really must have changed the "Legendary Sucker." He could only hope that she would continue to make the time to see him.

After their fight with Orochimaru, he had tried to see her as much as he could. He had hoped that maybe her attitude towards him would've changed with the years. She seemed to have forgiven him for most of the perverted things he did when he was younger, but she always seemed wary. Work might have even been an excuse for her to avoid him.

Well, whatever the case, he could only hope that she would always remember the missions they completed together (as well as the ones they didn't). He prayed that she would remember how happy they had been all those years ago. Yes, he thought, even with Orochimaru. With another drink, he wished that she wouldn't forget him in spite of all her responsibility.

* * *

**Bad Reputation - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (2:48)**

"Please, Lady Tsunade! Let's get out of here!" Shizune pleaded, eyeing up the deadly-looking man cracking his knuckles. She had saved Tsunade from several drunken confrontations, but this man was possibly the angriest and strongest of all those she had faced.

"He challenged me to this bet. I'm not gonna back down!"

"Imagine if you lose! You'll be the laughingstock of this entire bar!"

Tsunade said, "What do I care about that? I have nothing to lose, anyways. Bring it on, big guy."

* * *

**I Melt with You - Modern English (3:48)**

The sun shone brightly into the bedroom, despite the closed curtains. It shone onto the two lying in bed. Jiraiya blinked against it and cursed himself for waking up so early. However, his anger subsided quickly when he felt the warm body next to him.

He had fallen asleep sitting up, something that wasn't too uncommon. He fell asleep wherever and however he could. Tsunade, still sleeping, was lying against his bare chest. Her head rose with the gentle rhythm of his breathing.

Jiraiya smiled and put his hand on her back. He didn't move for a long time, trying to remember the moment forever.

* * *

**Rodeo - Garth Brooks (3:40)** _It was at this point that my iTunes library decided to turn off Shuffle. I didn't realize, so I apologize. The rest of the songs are in alphabetical order._

She would never admit that she had started to develop feelings for Jiraiya. That boy would never let it go if he found out. So it was only natural for her teenage hormones to make her feel absolutely and utterly devastated when he left the village to train for an unknown amount of time. Even if he was only gone for a few days, she knew they would feel like years.

As the months dragged on, the desire to see him again began to fade. She continued her training with Orochimaru. The quiet boy began to pop into her thoughts more and more. Was she starting to feel the same way she did about Jiraiya?

One day, in a fit of teenage emotion, she approached him and mentioned her feelings. He laughed and left to train on his own.

* * *

**Rosanna - Toto (5:34)**

As the last Sannin to live in Konoha, Jiraiya usually was given the most dangerous missions the Third Hokage could come up with. He didn't mind; in fact, it gave him the opportunity to step away from his normal life and really delve into his thoughts and memories.

Lately, Tsunade was a prevailing thought on his mind when he was working. He always wondered how long she had been gone and if she would ever come back to the village. One of his more sensitive ideas left him thinking that he could've stopped her from ever leaving in the first place. Usually when he thought about that, he wouldn't return to the village for a few days after finishing his mission.

During those frequent lonely times, he would imagine all of the things that he would say to her when she came back. He dreamed of the nights that they could spend together when she returned his feelings.

Upon returning to the village, his mind would calm down. Normal life would resume and he would await the Hokage's next orders. When he was sent out again, he happily returned to his thoughts, knowing that things would never change.

* * *

**The Rose - Bette Midler (3:42)**

The piles of papers on her desk slowly formed into mountains. She sat back in her chair and sighed, staring helplessly at the work before her. Silently, she scolded herself for taking a day off. The work she had left unfinished tripled in twenty-four hours' time.

She rested her elbows on the precious open space on her desk and laid her chin in her hands. Jiraiya rescued her from these mountains yesterday, but he wasn't here to do it today. She looked back on the time they spent together yesterday.

As the simple little peck they had shared crossed her mind, she grabbed the nearest papers and lost herself in her work once more.

* * *

******Round & Round - Ratt (4:26)**

The couple walked down the street, arm in arm. Villagers smiled at their Hokage. Her happiness rubbed off on them as she had at last given in. She had told Jiraiya that she did, in fact, love him.

She laughed at the little kids she waved at. They blushed as she walked by and hid behind the nearest garbage can. "Jiraiya," she said, "why do you insist on taking me from the office to walk around the village nearly every day?"

"Why else?" he grinned. "I want to show off my victory to everyone!"

"Your victory?" Tsunade repeated, feigning anger.

Jiraiya jumped back and waved his arms frantically. "That's not what I mean! I just want –"

Tsunade laughed. "You're cute when you're scared. I remember when you would run from me if I caught you peeping. I should've known you had me from the start."

* * *

**Run Between the Raindrops - Pat Benatar (4:30)**

Tsunade woke up to the sound of muffled crying. She rolled out of bed and checked the time. Despite the slight annoyance at being awoken at such an early hour, she followed the noise to find Shizune lying face down on the couch, shaking with sobs.

Her heart went out to the young girl. She placed a hand on Shizune's back. The latter gasped and looked up, but relaxed as she recognized her master. Tsunade took a seat next to her apprentice and said, "Tell me what's wrong, honey."

Shizune sniffled and said, "It's really nothing, I just miss home."

"Nothing?" Tsunade asked. She put her arm around Shizune's shoulders. The younger girl leaned onto Tsunade's shoulder. "I know you miss home, and I'm sorry that you do. Why don't I let you visit for a while?"

The girl smiled and agreed to the plan. Tsunade let her pick a day to visit and watched her bustle around the hotel room, much happier than she had been in weeks.

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**Running with the Devil - Van Halen (3:34)**

The bar was especially loud tonight. Shizune had left some time ago, leaving Tsunade alone to fend for herself. The drinks kept coming her way. She gladly drank with the men who were too drunk to care about taking her home for the night.

A bass beat made the walls vibrate. She swayed in time to the song as another man sat next to her at the bar. He offered her a drink which she gladly accepted. The two drained their glasses and she waved him away. He was upset, but his angry rant didn't bring her down at all. She was as drunk as she could be and having the time of her life.

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Whew, that was a lot of fun to do. I'm running low on ideas for one-shots, but I'd love to do some more. I'm interested in hearing if anyone has some ideas for me, so if you want, leave some in a review! Also, if you decide to do this challenge, let me know and I'll gladly check it out!


	7. Calm Before the Storm

The battle was over. Tsunade was now Konoha's Fifth Hokage. Naruto was on a short road to recovery. Orochimaru's plans had been thwarted. Jiraiya supposed he should've been happy, but a nagging feeling kept him from celebrating.

There was no doubt in his mind that Tsunade would be a terrific Hokage. He knew that if she was convinced to do the job, she would do it well. As he looked at her now, beaten, bloody, but triumphant, his belief in her only strengthened. She turned down her greatest desire, put her life on the line, and overcame her greatest fear all in the span of a few hours. Not to mention, she held her own against the man who killed the Third. Jiraiya witnessed just what he had needed to see to confirm that Tsunade was indeed the right choice.

With Tsunade's chakra depleted and his leg and rib broken, Shizune took charge of the situation. She wrapped her lady's arm across her shoulders and ordered Jiraiya to carry Naruto as carefully as possible for the sakes of both sensei and student.

"There's no need for all that," Jiraiya said. "Give me some chakra and I can summon Gamabunta to take us back to Konoha."

Shizune glanced at Tsunade and shook her head. "Konoha can wait another day for their Hokage. Lady Tsunade needs to rest first."

"We still have rooms in the hotel. We can just stay there for the night," Jiraiya suggested hurriedly. He wanted to get some sleep as soon as possible. Truthfully, what he really wanted was to get drunk, but he didn't know the full effects of the poison Tsunade had slipped him. He didn't care to find out what more alcohol would do to his body coupled with the poison.

The party set off for the hotel. After only a few minutes of travel, it became apparent that Shizune struggled with Tsunade. Both women were understandably weak and exhausted from the day's events, but they were slowing the group down. Jiraiya stopped ahead and looked behind him. "Hey, Shizune!" he called. "Switch me. Carry Naruto back and I'll help Tsunade."

Shizune looked like she was about to protest, but Jiraiya had already closed the distance between them. She stepped away from Tsunade who only stared at the ground silently. Her body was shaking almost as bad as it had when she saw blood. Jiraiya cautiously transferred Naruto from his arms onto Shizune's back. Once he was sure Shizune wasn't going to drop him, he knelt down next to Tsunade, winced at the pain, and lifted her into his arms.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said weakly. "What –"

"You need to rest as soon as possible. Think of this as my first service for the new Hokage," Jiraiya grinned. Too tired to argue, Tsunade let her head fall to lie on Jiraiya's chest. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Don't worry, princess," he whispered.

"I'm not," she replied, the trace of a smile on her lips.

Jiraiya and Shizune raced back to the hotel as fast as they could without stopping. By the time they arrived, the sun had started to set. Shizune left Jiraiya to put Naruto in bed. Jiraiya went to Tsunade's room and placed her gently on the bed closest to the window. Her eyes fluttered open at the sudden shift. He smiled at her and said, "Get some sleep now, Lady Fifth. You'll need it to take care of Konoha."

"Jiraiya . . ." She tried to speak again, but she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Not now," he said, sitting down next to her on the small bed. "There's plenty of time to talk once you wake up."

She soon drifted off into a deep, well-deserved sleep. He watched her for a while, fascinated at her true face. He wondered why she took so much trouble to hide her age when he thought it just made her look more mature, wiser. Although, he thought, maybe he would always see her as beautiful, no matter what.

Shades of orange and yellow shone through the window, dimly lighting the room. It would've been a perfect scene for one of Jiraiya's novels, if only he could bring himself to think of it.

The Toad Sage drifted off to sleep sitting up in the bed. Shizune wandered in at some time, but he was too far into his sleep to hear her. Tsunade slept better than she had in a very, very long time. The blissful dreamland was a warmly welcomed calm before the call of duty swamped her once more.

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I don't really have much to say about this one, so thanks for reading and reviewing everyone!


	8. Falling

Whoa, surprise early update time! If you couldn't tell, Tsunade's my favorite character from the Naruto series, so please forgive me if a lot of the updates center around her. She's just such a deep, riveting character that I can't resist loving her. This chapter takes place right after Pain destroys Konoha and includes dialogue mostly from chapters 430 and 431. Without further ado, enjoy!

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With a loud boom, the large stone hiding Tsunade fell to the ground. She blinked against the sunlight and felt her heart skip a beat. Her eyes widened in horror and her jaw hung slack as she attempted to cope with the sight before her.

Konoha was gone, reduced to nothing more than a huge pile of smoking rubble. "Wh – What?" The unbelievable sight soon hit her harder than the force of her own strength. She gnashed her teeth together and growled furiously, "Damn it . . . I'll never forgive you. . . I'll never forgive you Pain!"

She felt warm tears form in her eyes, but they didn't fall. Even if they did, she was too angry to be ashamed. The ANBU operative turned to look at her, awaiting her next move. Her breaths were short and shallow, but this battle was far from over.

The ANBU helped her to her feet. "Lady Tsunade –"

She would have never dreamed of saying her next words, but then again, she had never dreamed of becoming Hokage. That dream was Nawaki, Dan, and Naruto, but here she was. Against all odds she had claimed the seat of Hokage for herself. Forget whatever she used to utter against her village, it needed her now more than ever. "Take me to Pain."

"Lady Fifth! You can't –"

"I didn't ask for an argument! That's an order!" Tsunade interrupted forcefully. She was certain that everything in the ANBU screamed to resist, but he quickly led the way to the large crater that Pain had created.

Along the way, she caught glimpses of faces filled with pain, suffering, and despair. If she only had more time to defend against Pain's attack, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way, maybe there would still be a village left to defend.

What was she thinking? Of course there was a village left to defend. Konoha's buildings did not make it a village; the people living there made it one. She had saved them from certain death, but it was still her duty to protect them.

When they approached the crater, Tsunade looked down inside. As she did, five of Pain's paths materialized out of the air. She spotted Naruto and instinctively jumped in front of him. She could not let this boy die here, not after how far he had come. After all, he was going to be Hokage someday.

She landed in front of Naruto and straightened. Her shortened breaths were becoming harder and harder to ignore, but she spoke as loudly and strongly as she could, only vaguely aware that the villagers were staring at her in shock.

"I am the Fifth Hokage –" she ignored the cry of the ANBU agent as he landed behind her, "– and I will never forgive you . . . for trampling on the treasure, the dreams . . . of those who came before me! As Hokage, I will put a stop to you here and now!"

The cold, indifferent stare Pain gave her seriously frightened her, but she held her ground. When he spoke, he sounded almost bored, "Looks like you understand a little of pain now . . . But . . . I have no use for you."

One of the paths suddenly lunged forward and flew straight for Tsunade. He grinned, "The one I want –"

She could only gape at the approaching monster. His hand was aimed directly for her neck and as he approached, jagged blades stretched towards her, screaming for her blood. She could only bring up her arms in an attempt to brace herself for what would surely be her death.

"IS ME, RIGHT?"

A crash echoed through the crater as Naruto smashed the path into the ground. The destroyed metal smoldered, but other than that, the path showed no signs of life.

She opened her eyes and gaped in shock at the power of the young boy before her. It was the same power Minato and Jiraiya had possessed.

"There's no need for Konoha's Hokage to deal with the likes of these guys. You just go enjoy a nice cup of tea or something."

"Naruto . . ." she whispered, still awestruck.

Any words that were said reached her ears, but she couldn't comprehend. With mostly all of her chakra gone, it was like her mind had started to shut down. Only when Naruto said her name did she snap back to reality. She strained to listen to the boy's next words.

"Granny, leave this to me! Tell the villagers not to interfere! It'll just make it harder to fight if I have to protect them at the same time."

"All right," she managed. "Then take Katsuyu with you, she should be useful." She pulled the slug from her jacket and added, "She has Intel on them."

The toad Fukasaku took Katsuyu from her hand and landed next to Naruto.

She began to feel the edges of unconsciousness tugging at her. She fought to stay awake, but knew that it was a losing battle. When Naruto spoke again, she struggled to comprehend.

"Maybe this isn't the best time to ask, but . . . now that I have natural energy, I can tell . . . I can feel everyone's chakra. Did Kakashi leave the village on a mission?"

Gamakichi lifted her off the ground. She had heard what he had said, but couldn't bring herself to answer, not when the situation was so bleak and dangerous.

"I get it . . ." he said quietly. "Go, Gamakichi."

She felt a rushing sensation of moving, but nothing else. Just as she was about to slip out of the world, she heard a panicked shout of her name. She recognized the voice as Sakura's and said her apprentice's name weakly. Longing to comfort the stressed girl, she muttered, "It's all right now."

The last remaining chakra faded from her body as Sakura lifted her hand. The wrinkled, roughened skin she strived to hide appeared and she lost grip on the world around her, fading away into the darkness.

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Thank you to all of you wonderful readers out there, as well as those who have reviewed and added this to their alert lists/favorites. It means a lot to us writers, and I'm sure you all know that!


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